• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Stray or Hay

Scruffster

New Kit
This is probably a stupid question, but what is the difference between stray and hay?

Which is best for eating? bedding?

Thanks
 
Their diets need to be 90% hay as this is really good for digestion and also keeping their teeth short, hay is used for bedding and they don't as far as i know eat it.:D
 
Straw is the stalk of threashed grain stems such as wheat, rye or oats and hay is grass, clover etc cut and dried purposely for animal feed. Therefore straw is simply a by-product of the grain production.

Straw has no nutritional value, unlike hay which is the most important part of the bunnies' diet, especially when it's good quality and has green in it, plus smells fresh. Bunnies will eat straw but if they fill up on that then they don't get the nutrition but end up full of fibre.

I don't personally see any point in using straw at all, even for bedding. Hay does both litter and feed job so why get anything else? Hay is also slightly more absorbent in my opinion.

:D
 
definately hay, hay is a bedding and a very big part of a rabbits teeth, this helps digestion and hopefully keep their teeth in good condition.
i personally do not use straw anymore. some rabbits used to have a bit of a chomp on it but there is no nutrition in it whatsoever
 
I use straw in the winter to pop on their hutches ( they insist on sitting on top of their hutches in the cold, not inside them :roll:), but only hay during the summer.
 
Mine got sore hocks from straw, it irriated their skin, so I wouldn't use it. In winter, if you need to, I'd use a Snugglepad.
 
I am new to the bunny thing and have two babies but i put newspaper down first then wood shavings, then straw on floor everywhere in hutch except for bedroom where i put nice soft hay on top of the straw, i give them timothy hay to eat. Not sure if im doing righht but my buns seem happy and comfy.
 
I use straw in the bedding section in winter for the pure reason that they don't eat it and therefore have a cosy bed 24/7. Otherwise I have to keep topping it up. They always have plenty of hay to munch on in their hay racks.
Straw is really a preference thing but hay is essential for a bunny.
 
My rabbits prefer straw so I've had to ween them off it completely. I guess it does at least wear down their teeth in the same way hay does, but I would replace it with hay when you can.
 
hay and not straw

I have only had mine three weeks so am still trying different things, i didnt realise straw had no nutritional value so i am not using that from now on, i am now using paper pellets as a base then hay on top. i was putting newspaper underneath but she just pulls it out and trashes the bed.
 
what animal is straw good for?

i used straw for my old rabbit (when i knew nothing on rabbits :oops:), but he got some pretty bad chest problem, so i changed to hay, and never looked back :D:lol:
 
Straw is best for bedding,i also find B's paws are cleaner when on straw rather than on hay but of course hay is the main part of a buns diet.If i use hay as bedding,i use a cheaper 1 and save the decent hay for the hayrack.:D
 
Back
Top